New Member, Old 240Z

[dwalklet]

I am the original owner of a 240Z (serial number 415 manufactured in 1969). I purchase the car in 1970 and have maintained it in pristine condition since then -- it only has 75,000 miles.

However,...

I recently had a house fire in which almost all the contents of the house were destroyed. Two new cars were totally and the Z inccured serious heat and smoke damage.

My insurance company has been cooperative but has been unable to find comps for similar vintage Z's. Does anyone have a suggestion where to look?

Thank you.

[beandip]

Send a PM to Carl Beck . He is a member here . He may be a good source for you. Do you have collectors insurance on the Z ? I hope! Gary

[DougN]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Do you plan to rebuild your Z, or is it too far gone?

[Goose52]

I would have thought more of the valuation experts would have jumped on this one by now. Perhaps you might want to change the title of your thread to something like: WTK - Value of HLS30 #415

Also, you could see if the insurance company would go by the listings on the NADA web site - go to: http://www.nadaguides.com/SectionHome.aspx?LI=1-28-0-5000-502-504-50005&l=1&w=22&p=0&f=5003

[26th-Z]

I just sent an e-mail to Carl with a heads-up to this thread. Carl is probably the best direction to start with if you haven't talked with him already.

[Carl Beck]

Hi Guys:

Thanks - I responded via e-mail 2 July 07. dwalklet is going through the all too typical process of dealing with an insurance company's claims adjustor at this point. Usually, it goes something like:

- a) the claims adjustor, through companies that offer such services, pulls the State's Sales Tax records for all 70-73 Datsun 240-Z's, to see within the past 12 to 18 months - what sales prices have been reported, such that the proper sales tax can be paid when a new title is requested. Then based on the average sales price reported - he makes an offer to settle the claim. Of course EVERYONE always states the true price they paid to the seller - such that they are allowed to pay the FULL amount of sales tax.. This usually results in values of $750.00 to $1,500.00 being the average "value" of a Datsun 240-Z.

So the Claims Adjustor, wanting to please this customer, offers $1,850.00 in cash to total the car out.

the owners says - ""wait a minute, I have a clean, low mileage "Classic Car" here - and it's worth $18,000.00 at least."" The Claims Adjustor says; -" OK - prove it Show me some comparable cars that sold for that amount in this market recently."

The owner then takes the NADA Value Guide in - and the Claims Adjustor says "we don't take that - it's only a Value Guide, not comparable sales documentation. The next step for the owner is to take all For Sale ad's in to the Claims Adjustor - that support a value of $18K. So he has to find ad.'s for restored or nearly perfect original, 1969 production year 240-Z's - that could be "replacements" for his car.... Or any other Series I cars that sold say on e-bay for $16K to $25K +.

One such sale - is listed on another thread (Steve's Orange 71 in Colo that sold for $14K) The problem with e-bay is that if you didn't keep the item number from the auction before it ended, or the URL to begin with - you have a hard time finding sales that have ended in the past.

So does anyone have some old URL's or Item Numbers from e-bay that would apply here? Series I cars in #3 or #2 Condition? that sold for something above $14K even? I know many have, but I didn't keep the old listings...

remember a #3 car "looks like new" to the average person looking at it... and a #2 car is a real show winner...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[AZ-240z]

[quote name=

So does anyone have some old URL's or Item Numbers from e-bay that would apply here? Series I cars in #3 or #2 Condition? that sold for something above $14K even? I know many have' date=' but I didn't keep the old listings...

remember a #3 car "looks like new" to the average person looking at it... and a #2 car is a real show winner...

FWIW,

Carl B.

Carl,

I saved an ebay auction for item # 320112203242. This was for a white Z owned and being sold by a car dealership owner. The car had a $26,000 bid which did not reach the reserve. This may help in aguing value with the insurance. Hope so.

Dan

[geezer]

With "almost" all the contents of the house being destroyed, does this include any photos you may have had, or service documents stating milage over a period of years? Hemmings is probably your best bet for the purpose of reviewing recent or past sale prices. Other than that, if you did not establish a replacement value with your insurer prior to this event, they will follow their playbook and you will be SOL. You will have to negotiate with them and reach a settlement. I have a family member who went through this same process in Michigan with his XKE. He retained ownership of the wreakage and accepted a cash settlement.

[dwalklet]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Fortunately, I know Carl and he has been very helpful in this situation.

My intention is to restore the car if feasible, but it appears that the project may be a black hole because of the smoke and heat damage. The damaged house may have the higher priority.

Yes, I do have digital pictures that were on my notebook computer which went out the door with me and the dog when I discovered the fire.

I will let everyone know the final outcome.

Donn

[bigoak]

Completed ebay listings on 70/71's (note these would not necessarily be comparables):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Datsun-240Z-THE-RIGHT-YEAR-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ140132571131QQihZ004QQcategoryZ6187QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971Datsun-240Z-Original-California-Car-With-Extras_W0QQitemZ150133692264QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6187QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-240Z-No-rust-rolling-shell_W0QQitemZ170123259356QQihZ007QQcategoryZ6187QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-240Z-No-rust-rolling-shell_W0QQitemZ170123259356QQihZ007QQcategoryZ6187QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-DATSUN-240-Z_W0QQitemZ300121019337QQihZ020QQcategoryZ6187QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The one AZ-240Z is referring to was a 1972 that was part of the 1996 Nissan re-furb project being sold by Park Cities Volkswagon in Dallas. It's initial listing had one bid on $26k that did not meet reserve. It was re-listed with a "buy it now" of $28k and the listing was cut short as I assume it sold locally. I would call the dealership and see if they could help you with the sale price as a comparable.

Ebay is tough as it only searches back 1 month in completed listings...

Sorry to hear about your loss, but at least it sounds like everyone made it out o.k.

Look forward to seeing pictures of the Z.

Good luck.

Mike A.